I can't kick my cravings

It's pretty amazing what happens when you go cold turkey. I've been on a meal plan since early December. I have more than enough to eat, I'm losing weight and I don't feel deprived. I got rid of all the "crap" in the cupboards, i.e., sugar laden foods and took them out of my diet. This morning I realized that I was drinking my coffee without even a sweetener. My palate has changed completely.

Sugar is a drug to many and it acts like a drug. You actually have to go through a withdrawal period (cravings and fighting them) to free yourself from the addiction.

When you realize that you are not in control of what you are eating and that it is the sugar addiction that's controlling what goes in your mouth then you will be in a better place to deal with it.

There are many articles and research dealing with sugar in our diets and how it affects us. It's poison to many.

Here's what I do for approx 2 weeks to kick the sugar cravings.

Eat massive amounts of protein and veggies, I literally eat 12oz or more of meat with a huge salad for dinner. Stop eating fruit after 2. Reduce carb intake, No sweets, no sugar, no bread, no pasta, no pasta sauce, no potatoes, no squash, no honey, peanut only peanut butter, no other nut butters. I mean I read the ingredient list and if anything sugar is *added* I don't buy it. Example.. plain yogurt is usually good. but yogurt that is pre mixed has sugar added. I get 0% chobani and mix fruit in myself. I use keifer in the morning for smoothies. If you use protein powder body fortress from walmart has the least sugar and a ton of protein and it tastes pretty good. I mix those together with fruit and water.

For 2 weeks I eat, low sugar fruits (apples, oranges, grapefruits, grapes, berries for example) plain greek yogurt, keifer, chicken, turkey, fish, eggs, egg white, loads of non-starchy veggies (lettuce, peppers, cucumbers, eggplant, carrots, celery, tomatoes, garlic, onion,) , olive oil, avocado, sauerkraut, sugar free jams or jellies, low carb marinara sauce, for dessert I mix plain yogurt with sugar free jam or make snickerdoodle pudding. (1/2 cup of lowfat Greek yogurt in a bowl. Add 1 t of vanilla, 2 packages of Truvia, (I use agave syrup since truvia makes me feel bad)1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon.) oh and no sugar or creamer. Coffee black or with truvia is ok. Green tea is good too. Again plain or with truvia if you need it a little sweet.

It's a little big boring.. and the third day SUCKS... i suffer headaches every time I do this for the first few days. It's simply because of sugar withdrawal. The only way to do this is to decide to stick to it. This is ok for 2 weeks or so.. don't do it longer as you need carbs for health. I'm doing this right now.. and was bad today (whisky AND a cliff baf bad me) .. but I feel loads better already, and the headache will be gone tomorrow.

Bonus is you will drop weight and after the first few days you will feel a lot better! Once you get the sugar out and you stop craving it you add back in the carbs and other meats fruits and veggies. There are certain things that trigger me to crave sugar, so i just don't eat those things anymore. it sounds drastic, but it's really not, it's not as hard as it sounds, it's short term and it works.

Oh and you are in control of your shopping. Don't shop hungry, make a list and stick to it. Don't even walk into the bakery or candy aisles.

I drinks lots of cups of herbal and spicy tea at night. The different flavors satisfy my craving to taste something interesting. I have about 35 to 40 different teas on my shelf!

haha i do this as well. I'm drinking jasmine infused green tea right now and already thinking about what my bedtime cup will be. lol

Don't feed it....

Exactly this. Don't substitute sugar craving with different sugar, that won't help the craving.

Inormally brush my teeth when I have a craving that I don't want to give in to. The taste in your mouth will deter you from eating or dring something other than ice and water.

I can't control myself. I either binge, or don't eat any sweets after dinner.

Good luck! I hope you have better willpower than I.

I started drinking chocolate protein shakes with just whole milk in them last night, and that alone has helped me a ton. It also helps me to stay fuller longer.

you really shouldn't do that at night.

If you have plenty of calories at the end of the day it is fine. Time of the day makes no difference.

wrong. Digestion slows to almost a stop while we sleep. You burn about 60 calories per hour while sleeping

Boop.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/02/060202080832.htm
http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/diet-truth-myth-eating-night-causes-weight-gain
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/2020/story?id=512095
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3263249.stm

You can save room for some calories at night, or have something like sugar free jello or pudding with a little whipped cream or cool whip (if you"re eating processed foods), or go cold turkey. The first 6 wks of my weight loss I went cold turkey off the sugar to get rid of the cravings, then I found I didn"t need nearly as much sweets after that. Good luck!

I got really overweight indulging my sweet tooth late at night, like 258, the heaviest I have ever been. I quit fast food, soda and candy, cold turkey and lost 10# in a week - yeah, I was that bad.

Keep some healthy foods around, drink water, check out your diary and what all those sweets do to you.

Last, commit yourself to weening off the junk food.

The holidays have gotten me addicted to sugar again! When I first started my new lifestyle, I worked hard to kick the addiction and then managed to have a little and not go berserk with it. But it does seem for me that the more I allow myself the more I crave, so I am now back to weaning myself off of it again.